This post is part of Think
Kit by SmallBox.
January 21, 2016 prompt:
“It's All About the Journey: Where did you travel this year? Did it move
or change you?”
Condo Life vs Cabin
Life vs RV Life
Four summers ago, my
BFF in NOLA took a vacation to Navarre Beach, Florida and she invited her
sister, her family, and me to join her. Navarre is half way between Daddy in
Pensacola (before he passed away) and Mama in Panama City, so I thought it
would be a great place to visit. I grew up on the beaches of NW Florida, and
love them. I believe with all my heart that the Miracle Strip (100 miles of
sugar white sand between Pensacola and Panama City) are the most beautiful beaches in Florida—and
most of the world for that matter. Even though the beach front condo we stayed
at was not pet friendly (at least not the condo unit we rented), I agreed to
join them. We had a blast and I visited Bandit daily at the Vet office where I
boarded him. Three summers ago, we
returned to the same condo, different unit.
I loved the sunrises and sunsets from the bedroom and balcony, and
decided the Beachfront Condo Life is for me!
But then…
Two summers ago, Bandit and I took a huge loop of many of
the western states (western Route 66, up Coast Highway 1 in CA, up to Oregon—with
the possibilities of continuing to Washington and possibly Canada—coming home to Texas with stops in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado). During
this trip, I tripped and banged myself up pretty good. After the fall, I
decided to take it a bit slower than what I had planned. Then the steering in
my SUV went out, and after that was repaired and we were on the road
again, a tire blew. On a Friday. In the
middle of nowhere—it was almost 5pm by the time I found a WalMart with a sympathetic
service manager and a couple of tire guys that stayed late to help out a damsel
in distress. Even fraught with all that drama that was the summer I decided when
I retire I’m selling everything, buying an RV, and traveling the remainder of
my active years. I picked up an RV magazine and started comparing models and
making retirement plans. I decided the RV Life is for me!
Until…
This past summer I rented a hand-hewn cabin in the Georgia
mountains. It was awesome. I chose this particular cabin for two reasons: the hand-hewn aspect, and it was both cat and
dog-friendly. In the past I’ve rented dog friendly cabins in Ruidoso NM. Since
Bandit and I rescued and subsequently adopted Moggy, I’ve found travel to be
slightly more problematic. Dogs go outside on a leash and the human scoops the
poop. Cats on the other hand require litter boxes and extra training for the
leash—which thus far has not been successful. I travel a lot and feel a travel
kennel is too small for Moggy on long trips. Therefore, I placed a small litter
box in a dog crate along with a cat bed. Because I was concerned with litter
fly-out, I wrapped the lower half of the crate in a light-weight blanket. Now
Moggy can travel long distance in relative comfort. This particular cabin was
one of six that I found that were both dog and cat friendly. While the others
were closer to streams or more secluded, I chose this cabin because all the
others had logs that were too perfect. They reminded me of modular cabins. This
cabin was quirky. I like quirky. So perhaps the Cabin Life is for me!
But maybe…
Can I have it all? I’ll need a home base anyway, why not a
cabin in the mountains or a condo on the beach? In fact, why not both? I could rent them out when I’m traveling. They
could be Retirement Income as well as a home base when I’m off the road. Even
if none of my hopes and dreams come to fruition, I’ve come to the conclusion it’s
not a condo life vs cabin life vs RV life that I’m looking forward to, it’s the Retirement
Life that’s for me!
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